By David Jordan
The world of journalism and media lost one of the greatest and most impactful voices in the passing of legendary broadcasting journalist Greg Gumbel. Gumbel died from cancer on December 27th 2024. His eloquence with bringing the world a unique introspective to various live sporting events and sports features helped in distinguishing him as one of the great broadcast journalist of the last century. Having worked for three of the major broadcasting networks (CBS, NBC and ESPN) and the renowned MSG Network Gumbel was able to capture various audiences throughout his career with play-by-play, exclusive interviews and classic features on various teams and individuals from college sports, the Olympics and professional sports.
Gumbel covered Major League Baseball, the NFL, Nascar and the NBA in different capacities over the decades. Super Bowl XXXV (played in Tampa, Florida) featured the Baltimore Ravens taking on the New York Giants for NFL supremacy. As the play-by-play announcer for the game, Gumbel would become the first black man to call a major sports championship game on a major network. His trailblazing moment enabled the pathway to be set for other black journalist to not only call major sporting events, but to spearhead the creation of their own media platforms for not only sports, but all genres of media. Throughout the years Gumbel became an official staple of NCAA March Madness on CBS as his in-studio commentary and post game insights personified the imagery and emotions of all of the universities that participated in the NCAA Tournament. Gumbel would win three Emmys during his broadcasting career.
Stylish in presentation and flawless in delivery, Mr. Greg Gumbel was the epitome of a man that perfected his craft as a journalist. Mr. Gumbel captured the audience with his voice, intrigued the audience with his wisdom and created timeless memories with his perspectives.
Thank you for your greatness Mr. Gumbel.